Grumpy Editor

COMMENTATOR CITES CHANGING SCENARIOS IN WAKE OF LAS VEGAS MASSACRE

 

 

A cover-up, cited by an author and broadcast personality in connection with the Oct. 1 Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino shooting in Las Vegas that killed 58 and injured several hundred, is spotlighted in a Sunday commentary column in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, observes Grumpy Editor.

After three weeks of different timelines presented to the public, Wayne Allyn Root focuses on the third scenario --- as does MGM Resorts, the casino's parent company and its lawyers and crisis management team, he points out, because that version "would lessen MGM's potential legal liability, saving the company a significant amount of money." The third version has a security guard arriving simultaneously with the start of shooting.

"The way MGM is handling this case looks and smells bad," Root declares.  "The questions and suspicions exploded when MGM security guard Jesus Campos 'disappeared' minutes before interviews with Sean Hannity and other serious media (professionals bound to ask serious questions). But it turns out he didn’t 'disappear' at all.  Apparently, MGM just didn’t want Campos being asked tough questions."

"Yes, the only witness to the worst mass shooting in America’s history would do only one media interview — and comedian Ellen Degeneres was the chosen interviewer. Ellen isn’t just a comedian. She is a comedian who has her own line of slot machines at MGM casinos.

"Anyone with a brain can figure out this is all about the timeline. Billions of dollars in lawsuits and legal liability are on the line."

Meanwhile, London's Daily Mail sums it up with:  "MGM was behind the decision to call off all the interviews and did a deal with Ellen, knowing she would not play hardball on the timeline as long as she had the exclusive."
 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

URANIUM SCANDAL IGNORED.  Old media continue to ignore a Senate probe into a Clinton-uranium scandal.  That's the case where the FBI finds evidence of a Russian bribery plot before the Obama Administration’s controversial 2010 nuclear deal with Moscow. The scandal reportedly involves millions of dollars in kickbacks to the Clinton Foundation.

NURSING FIELD SEES GROWTH OF MALES IN RANKS.  Latest nursing field figures (2015) show men make up 13 percent vs. 2.2 percent in 1960.

SO WHAT DO NORTH KOREANS WATCH ON TV?  NBC News reports that military officials in North Korea tune in MSNBC's "Morning Joe" specifically for reports and discussions about their country.

GIs WITH PINKISH BROWN TROUSERS?  Soldiers are sporting proposed outfits, with pinkish-brown trousers and dark olive jackets modeled after World War II-era uniforms known as “pinks and greens," designed for everyday office wear. If adopted, the existing blue Army service uniform would be used only for formal occasions.

ANOTHER DRILL AS "BIG ONE" STILL AWAITED.  Millions of Californians go through an earthquake drill --- including going under tables for protection --- continuing a routine started nine years ago in preparation for "the big one" which scientists claim is long overdue. 

MOST PEOPLE FEEL ITS FABRICATED NEWS.  Editor & Publisher reports 46 percent of voters believe news media fabricate stories about President Donald Trump and his administration, while 37 percent think the media do not manufacturer stories.  Remaining 17 percent are undecided.

COMING OUT OF HIS SHELL.  Jonathan, at 186 years old and considered the oldest giant tortoise in the world (and probably the oldest creature on earth) could be gay. Living on St Helena island in the south Atlantic since the 19th century, experts in the British Overseas Authority recently discovered the old-timer’s girlfriend of the last 26 years is probably a male.  Seems tortoises do not have easily identifiable differences between males and females. Gender generally is determined by subtle clues like notches in the shell or shape of stomach.

Trump team adds two from Fox News to security posts

Fox News is losing two of its top female commentators to key security posts on Donald Trump’s team, observed Grumpy Editor.

Monica Crowley will become senior director of strategic communications for the National Security Council. She will work under retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, selected to be national security adviser.

Crowley will join former Fox News national security analyst, K.T. McFarland, selected earlier to serve as deputy national security adviser.

Crowley also was a columnist and online opinion editor at The Washington Times and a syndicated radio host.

McFarland’s national security experience dates back to the Nixon administration.

She was an aide to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, a staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, a speechwriter for Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

Red faces in the Navy:  A shadowing Chinese Navy ship snatched a U.S. Navy underwater drone as crew members from the USNS Bowditch prepared to retrieve it in international waters in the South China Sea. Over the weekend, however, the Pentagon said China will return that drone…Southern California weather just like old times:  Rain started moving in late in the week as the Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains plus foothill communities in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and San Gabriel valleys…In the aftermath of its questionable sales practices in September, Wells Fargo’s new customer banking activity continued to fall last month. November checking account openings, for example, fell 41 percent from a year prior...President-elect Donald Trump was expected to select Republican National Committee chief strategist Sean Spicer to serve as White House press secretary in his administration…Fox News' Bill O'Reilly told Deadline.com , “I thought the coverage of the election was disgraceful and it was dishonest. It was ideologically driven and I think that the news agencies that did that will never return to a level of credibility ever”…Get those saws ready: With about 102 million dead trees in California forests, the state said it wants them removed soonest to reduce the risk of wildfires…Cigars, once banned, fire up troops morale in Afghanistan, reported Stars and Stripes. Military, civilian and contractor personnel in Kabul said cigar smoking is more than a nicotine fix. They pointed out it’s a bond of friendship, an escape from the drudgery of deployed life and a taste of home.

            Like a war zone...

In San Francisco, gunfire erupted across the street from where San Francisco’s KPIX 5 reporter Susie Steimle was working another story, leading to some shaken nerves. The shooters are being sought.

While Obama talks 'climate change,' is ice age looming?

 

Grumpy Editor says look for reams of stories this week --- and beyond --- coming out of the United Nations climate change conference, widely known as COP 21, that gets under way today in Paris.

Also look for President Barack Obama while in Paris to be a frequent utterer of “climate change” which, for months, he considered to be the biggest threat facing the U.S.

This is contrary to a Fox News poll that found 97 percent of Americans don’t seem to care about climate change when stacked up against other concerns such as terrorism or the economy.

Climate change has been uppermost in Obama’s mind going back to his last state of the union address to Congress when he declared, "No challenge, no challenge, poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change."

Even the Pentagon --- with its 23,000 military and civilian employees as headquarters for the U.S. Department of Defense --- is backing climate change, jumping into a field far remote from its focus on military activities.

A Pentagon report called “National Security Implications of Climate-Related Risks and a Changing Climate,” released four months ago and sent to U.S. combat commanders around the world, pointed out climate change as an “urgent and growing threat to our national security.”

In June, along with foreign policy remarks to more than 1,000 graduating West Point cadets, the president called for energizing the global effort to combat climate change which he termed “a creeping national security crisis that will help shape your time in uniform.”

Breitbart recently tallied “22 times Obama or his administrative officials claimed climate change a greater threat than radical Islamic terrorism.”

Meanwhile, something that will not be covered in Paris:

Is a new ice age coming?

Listeners to tonight’s Coast to Coast AM, airing on more than 600 U.S. radio stations, will hear a discussion on disturbing trends in global climate models pointing to Earth entering an ice age.

 

Trump recollection of jubilant Muslims backed

While major media were quick to shoot down what Donald Trump insisted he saw in New Jersey following the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on New York City, a writer for BizPac Review, West Palm Beach, Fla. backed up the GOP presidential front runner, observed Grumpy Editor.

Trump is telling the truth about Muslims celebrating in New Jersey on that day, said Carmine Sabia.  “It did happen, and I saw it," he maintained, “while driving with family members through Paterson, N.J. that morning, after the planes hit. It’s not the kind of thing you forget.”

"We witnessed people in traditional Muslim garb dancing, jumping, shouting and celebrating like their team had won the Super Bowl,” added Sabia.  “I didn’t see thousands of Muslims celebrating but I absolutely saw a pocket, perhaps 100, jumping for joy at the sight of the smoke rising from where the Twin Towers used to be."

Meanwhile, a Washington Post Sept. 18, 2001 story reported:  “In Jersey City, within hours of two jetliners’ plowing into the World Trade Center, law enforcement authorities detained and questioned a number of people who were allegedly seen celebrating the attacks and holding tailgate-style parties on rooftops while they watched the devastation on the other side of the river.”

Sabia pointed out, “The funny part of the media-made controversy is that until Trump recalled his experience on that day, these events were a commonly accepted fact by Jerseyans.”

On Sunday’s Meet the Press on NBC, Trump said he has received hundreds of tweets and calls backing up his version.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

Bloomberg News on Thursday noted China’s President Xi Jinping announced a major overhaul of his country’s military “to make the world’s largest army more combat ready and better equipped to project force beyond the country’s borders”…Authorized by Congress in 1999, a Dwight Eisenhower memorial honoring World War II’s top U.S. commander and the country’s 34th president, remained a project in waiting.  But former Kansas Senator Bob Dole, now 92, is seeking private funds in efforts to move forward with the project…Many Los Angeles Times editorial staffers’ desks will be empty this week as the newspaper offered buyouts accepted by many veterans, including two assistant managing editors, several bureau chiefs and even obituary writers…Think delivering newspapers is easy?  An 80-year-old Omaha, Neb. delivery person’s Dodge Grand Caravan was carjacked in early morning hours by two men --- one with a gun --- wearing hooded sweatshirts who forced him out of the vehicle.

 

Harris County, Ga. sheriff Mike Jolley personally paid $553 for a sign in front of his office that warns visitors that his county is “politically incorrect.”  It reads:

“We say:  Merry Christmas, God Bless America and in God We Trust.  We salute our troops and our flag. 

If this offends you…LEAVE!”

Authorities hunt for (long) missing Secret Service tapes

In the not quite “this-just-in” department, Grumpy Editor noted a weekend CNN report that two very sensitive Secret Service computer tapes accidentally left in a pouch on a train were being sought. 

But, after a few paragraphs, the report mentioned the incident occurred (gulp) almost five years ago. 

Thus, it indicated a rather cold trail for investigators seeking the tapes that were left on a subway car in Washington's Metrorail system. 

CNN reported “the tapes contained very sensitive Secret Service personnel and investigative information, and if accessed could be highly damaging, according to sources.” 

A contractor, it added, was transporting the pouch from Secret Service headquarters in Washington to a data facility in Maryland in February, 2008. 

The contractor left the Metro train and later realized the pouch with the tapes was left behind. 

According to CNN, a congressional source said the missing tapes-incident was now the subject of an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General.

11 days after deadly Libya attack: terrorists did it

Grumpy Editor’s pick as quote of the month --- 11 days after a military-style deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted:

“What happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack.”

She added, “And we will not rest until we have tracked down and brought to justice the terrorists who murdered four Americans.” 

For more than a week, U.S. officials thought --- and widely proclaimed --- the attack was a protest stemming from a little-seen anti-Islam Internet video. 

The assault resulted in the murders of Ambassador Chris Stevens, diplomat Sean Smith, and ex-Navy SEALS Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods who were in Benghazi as part of a security contractor force.

London paper: U.S. warned 3 days prior to Libya attack

Shoving aside new information on the Libya deadly riots, media --- TV and especially MSNBC --- dwelled on a four-month old “hidden video” suddenly surfacing yesterday showing Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney with off-the-cuff remarks on President Barack Obama’s base, notes Grumpy Editor.

That overshadowed the new revelation, via London’s The Independent, that Libyan security officials warned U.S. diplomats three days before the Sept. 11 murders of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three members of his team in a Benghazi attack. 

Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., with appearances on four Sunday talk shows and beyond, has maintained the deaths of U.S. personnel were triggered by a 12-minute anti-Islam video rather than pre-planned. 

(No one questioned her on how most of the thousands of protesters, living way below the poverty line, could afford access to the Internet and computers to view the video.)  

The Independent pointed out the advance warning came as Libya’s interim president, Mohammed el-Megarif, said his government had information that the attack on the U.S. consulate was “planned by an Islamist group with links to al-Qa'ida and with foreigners taking part.”

Furthermore, the London daily reported diplomatic sources said threat of an attack against U.S. interests in the region was known to the Obama administration 48 hours before it took place. 

The alert, it added, was issued by the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, but not made public. 

In contrast, The Independent also reported a State Department spokesman maintained, "We are not aware of any actionable intelligence indicating that an attack on the U.S. Mission in Benghazi was planned or imminent."

‘Sensitive’ voting machines being eyed today in Nevada

With Nevada’s primary election today, some voters will be keeping sharp eyes on electronic voting machines that were a source of questionable vote tallies in the 2010 election that resulted in a close victory for Democrat Harry Reid, Senate majority leader, notes Grumpy Editor. 

In a tight race with Republican Sharron Angle at that time (she was ahead in polls right up until the election) some early voters --- in a state that allows early voting in such places as supermarkets, shopping malls and trailers --- found Reid’s name already checked on ballot pages of electronic units. 

The happening received scant national media attention at that time. 

Clark County registrar of voters in 2010, without conducting an intensive investigation, declared there was no voter fraud but blamed the checkmarks alongside Reid’s name on sensitive screens. 

Larry Lomax at that time also blamed the faulty voting action on seniors, mentioning elderly citizens have difficulty in casting their ballots. 

Following that weak explanation, former House majority leader Dick Armey, now Freedom Works chairman, said with early voting there “is less security” that creates a “great opportunity” for voter fraud, especially in major urban areas. 

This year’s early voting in Nevada ran from May 26 to June 8. 

Top race in Nevada’s current voting is for the U.S. Senate, pitting Democrat Shelley Berkley against Republican Dean Heller. 

Nevada requires no photo identification or verification of identity for people who vote.

 

Emergency Alert System test goes national on Nov. 9

Look for some grumbling from radio listeners and television viewers at 2 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday when the Emergency Alert System interrupts programming for the first simultaneous nationwide test, anticipates Grumpy Editor.

Originally planned for three minutes, the test is scaled back to 30 seconds after objections from the cable TV industry. 

The test is designed to ensure national leaders can communicate quickly with people in an emergency. 

Suspicious minds are thinking: 

Why now?  Could some large-scale event be brewing?  What if power is out, complicating radio and TV transmissions, thus negating broadcast warnings? 

Others may ask why not revert to World War II alerts with sirens?  That would cover people who are unable to tune in to radio or TV or simply do not have radio or TV sets on. 

The national Emergency Alert System is designed to be activated by the president. 

Although the EAS is tested on a weekly or a monthly basis at the state or local level, the Federal Communications Commission says “there has never been an end-to-end nationwide test of the system.” 

The FCC adds it needs “to know that the system will work as intended should public safety officials ever need to send an alert or warning to a large region of the United States.  Only a complete, top-down test of the EAS can provide an appropriate diagnosis of the system’s performance.”

 

Nov. 15 GOP debate puts Romney, Cain in spotlight

Ready for another round?  With quotes from verbal exchanges at this week’s Republican presidential candidates’ debate in Las Vegas still bouncing around in broadcast and print media, another “boxing match” is slated for Nov. 15 on CNN, discovers Grumpy Editor. 

CNN, in partnership with The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute, will telecast the debate from Washington, D.C.  Airtime is 8 p.m. ET. 

The focus will be on two areas mostly overlooked in prior sessions: national security and foreign policy. 

It will mark the 11^th national debate in six months. 

“We hope this debate will illuminate the candidates’ positions on national security and foreign policy at a critical time for America and the world,” mentions Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute. 

Already some media are gearing up for what they envision as hearty exchanges between front runners former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former corporate executive Herman Cain.

 

Media led astray by Napolitano’s no shoe removal outlook

A prediction on the end of passengers’ shoe removal at airports comes across as a welcomed change in procedure at security checkpoints and erroneously gets wide print and broadcast coverage Wednesday, as what happened with Homeland Security Department Secretary Janet Napolitano peering into her crystal ball, observes Grumpy Editor. 

Television jumps at the news, showing footage of shoes being removed at airports, then giving the impression that the procedure is at, or nearing, an end.

But somewhere along the line, news editors miss the announcement that shelving the airport shoe biz is “in the future.”  Make that distant future. 

An Associated Press story on the shoe business distinctly has Napolitano saying that technology to scan passengers’ footwear for bombs doesn’t yet exist and may not be available soon. 

The AP story then underscores that with, “No technology meets government standards to screen shoes for explosives at airports while passengers wear them.” 

Can’t be much clearer than that. 

Footwear removal at airports is an added security measure since an al-Qaida member unsuccessfully tried to detonate a device built into his shoe almost 10 years ago.